Mu Qing
Mu Qing (慕情 Mù Qíng), ''also known as '''General' 'Xuan Zhen '(玄真将军 Xuán Zhēn Jiāngjun), is a popular martial god who oversees the southwest. Eight hundred years ago, he was the personal attendant of Xie Lian and did household chores like washing his clothes and dressing him. He abandoned the prince to "take care of his mother" when Xie Lian fell from Heaven the first time. Appearance Personality A prideful and stubborn man. He appears to look down at Xie Lian with contempt, often making rude remarks towards him. He also has a rivalry with Feng Xin. He is often sarcastic and dismissive towards others. He abandoned Xie Lian after his first descent and is disliked by Feng Xin, Mei Nian Qing and Hua Cheng. When Jian Lan accused him of being the father of her ghost child, most people believed her and were quick to berate him to his disgust (as this was untrue and Feng Xin was the true father). He is also known for not doing kind deeds or putting himself in danger even to help others. Xie Lian describes him as someone mean enough to spit in someone's cup, but not malicious enough to poison someone's cup. Xie Lian also describes him as someone who deeply loves his own life and fears death. Eventually it is shown that whenever he tries to do good deeds, people always assume the worst of him. This is shown when he left Xie Lian after he and Feng Xin refused to listen to his advice and lower themselves to become street performers and earn money. Mu Qing claimed he had to care for his ailing mother and left them to become a lower court Heavenly official. When 30 heavenly officials spoke poorly of Xie Lian and ganged up on him to steal the cultivation land he found first, Mu Qing broke Xie Lian's branch (which he used as a weapon) and told him to leave. He chose not fight Xie Lian, but also refused to help or acknowledge their previous friendship. Later, he tried to help Xie Lian get up when no one was looking but was rebuffed. He also tried giving food to Xie Lian and his family since Xie Lian and Feng Xin still couldn't find jobs and were starving, but Xie Lian was too enraged by his betrayal to accept. Afterwards, Xie Lian realized Mu Qing had been right, and he ended up becoming a street performer to earn money. In another case, Mu Qing refused to let Hua Cheng into the army by saying he was useless, intending to spare the child from war and death, but came across as looking down on Hua Cheng as a servant and being jealous of Hua Cheng's talents (as Xie Lian wanted to recruit him to work directly under him due to his abilities in a similar fashion to how he recruited Mu Qing). When he tried to help Feng Xin escape the burning heavenly palace, he had no choice but to strike him on the back of the neck in the hopes of carrying him away while he was unconscious as he refused to leave until he found Jian Lan and Cuo Cuo. Unfortunately, something interfered and he was instead suspected of trying to hurt Feng Xin and leave him to die in the palace by striking him unconscious. He has a short temper and is quick to berate others but his temper is truly ignited when someone tosses him a broom, as it reminds him when he was a servant under Xie Lian. During his years as a servant, he was frequently bullied and looked down upon by the other disciples, he was forced to rely on Xie Lian for protection. He has shown no interest in women, most likely due to his path of cultivation which is the same as Xie Lian and requires abstinence for worldly pleasures like alcohol and sex. He has a habit of rolling his eyes in disgust constantly. He frequently shows contempt towards Xie Lian despite the fact that without Xie Lian he would have never managed to be a martial God. He frequently speaks ill of him and willingly badmouths him in public. He reveals his true feelings towards him in Chapter 235, admitting he felt Xie Lian only relied on his status as a prince and fortune and that he wasn't much more skilled than Mu Qing himself. He also believed that Xie Lian only does good deeds to be praised and flattered, and that he may never be able to change those opinions he has of Xie Lian but that deep down, more often than not, he is in awe of him and was a better person than him and that he wanted to be Xie Lian's friends. He also believed Xie Lian hated him which is partially why he often spoke bad of Xie Lian, as he felt they couldn't be friends anymore though the two seem to have reconciled by the end of the novel. Trivia * Mu Qing came from a poor background and used to sweep the floors of the Imperial Temple. * His alter ego is his fake subordinate Fu Yao. * He is present during Xie Lian’s battle with Jun Wu at Tong Lu Mountain. Category:Heavenly Officials Category:Male Characters